1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to a rolling drawer to store articles above a support surface. More specifically, the present invention relates to a rolling drawer, including a drawer-like tray and wheel assemblies, to support the tray for rolling movement above the support surface, and which wheel assemblies self-mount on a pair of side panels of the tray without the use of separate fasteners.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Rolling drawers, such as the free-standing drawer described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,597,122 to Handler et al., have been provided for additional storage space under room furnishings, such as beds, high-leg drawer chests and seating furniture. The free-standing drawer of Handler et al. includes a drawer that is supported for rolling contact upon a floor by a set of four wheels rotatably connected to the sides of the drawer by threaded connectors, such as wood screws. This type of wheel attachment is expensive in that if the drawer is to be assembled in a factory, the time expended in tightening each screw increases the fabrication expense of each drawer. If, on the other hand, the drawer is to be supplied in kit form for assembly by the ultimate consumer, then the consumer must provide a screw driver and must have the minimum mechanical skill necessary to attach the wheels to the drawer.
The prior art has provided devices for attaching wheels or casters to articles by interconnecting bracket assemblies. In such assemblies, the wheel or caster is rotatably connected to one component of the bracket assembly and another component of the bracket assembly is connected to the article to be supported. Examples of such devices may be found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 441,433 to Mead, 2,800,679 to Schultz, Jr., and 3,989,128 to Walker. Although the attachment of the wheels to the respective articles in these references is simplified over the wheel attachment disclosed in Handler et al, the assembly of the bracket component to the article still requires the use of screws and/or special tools. Thus, even if the teachings of these aforementioned patents were applied to the teachings of Handler et al., the disadvantages of the separate threaded fasteners of Handler et al. would not be overcome.
The prior art also has provided bracket-like devices for attaching wheels and rollers to wire-like frames, such as dishwasher racks. For instance, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,194,610 to Stewart, 3,744,646 to Duncan et al., and 4,449,765 to Lampman disclose rollers attached to brackets that are designed to engage wire-like elements forming wire-like trays. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,057,872 to Schmidt, the elements of the wire-like tray have formed loops for connection of the brackets to the tray. As will be appreciated, the devices disclosed in these patents have no application to an article having solid panels, such as the free-standing drawer of Handler et al.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,215,476 to Jacobs discloses a roller assembly that is attached to the side wall of a sliding cabinet without the use of screws, threaded fasteners and the like. In Jacobs, the sidewall of the cabinet is provided with a key hole slot having wide and narrow portions. An axle member is provided having, at one end, a guide roller rotatably mounted thereon and, at the other end, an end portion insertable into the wide portion of the key hole opening. The insertable end portion has a reduced diameter neck portion configured to receive the edges of the narrow portion of the key hole slot.
In order to attach the roller assembly of Jacobs to the side wall of the cabinet, the reduced diameter neck portion must first be aligned with the edges of the slot. Thereafter, the axle is upwardly shifted so that the reduced neck portion engages the marginal edges of the narrow portion of the key hole slot to hold the roller assembly in place. Thus, although the attachment of the Jacobs roller assembly does not use separate connectors, such as screws, the reduced diameter neck portion of the axle member must be aligned with the edges of the key hole slot prior to the shifting of the axle member into its mounted position within the narrow portion of the key hole slot. This alignment stage of assembly is further complicated by the fact that Jacobs also discloses a circular axially yieldable flange connected to the axle member to produce a tight griping contact with the side wall of the cabinet. The initial compression of the flange increases the difficulty of aligning the reduced neck portion with the marginal edges of the narrow portion key hole slot.
The present insertion improves on the aforesaid devices by providing a rolling drawer in which wheel assemblies are removably mounted to side panels of a tray-like drawer, without the use of separate connectors, by components that self-align to further reduce assembly difficulties over the prior art.